Jacob Volkmann: No, no. I said in a few interviews that I did expect it, but I was just playing with the media. I had no idea.

AABMMA: How can a fighter go 6-2 and still be released?

JV: You tell me. Politics, my friend.

AABMMA: Are you at all bitter about how things worked out with the UFC?

JV: Very bitter. They always claim that they treat the fighters so well. Yeah, they treat the top five per cent of the fighters well — the ones that are on the main card all the time. They don’t treat the rest of them very well. The healthcare plan is horrible, with a $1,500 deductible per injury — the catastrophic-injury insurance is not even really good insurance. There’s no retirement fund, there’s no signing bonus. You start off at six-and-six, you’re really not making too much money because you’re self-employed, so you’re paying the self-employment tax and you’re paying the regular tax and income tax. So you’re paying twice as much in tax. They claim they’re treating the fighters well, but they’re not, realistically.

The UFC's mindset seems to be that when a fighter makes it to the UFC, they've made it to the "show," and all other organizations are merely feeder systems or the "minors." If that's the case, then any fighter who makes it to a UFC card should feel they've achieved something special, and with that, should be compensated accordingly. Base pay should be much more than competing organizations, and more than 6/6.

The UFC has no incentive to treat fighters any better. It's not like exposing the UFC in interviews is going to hurt ticket sales. The benevolent spirit of the free market can't help people in Volkmann's position. The only sure solution is something like government regulation. Maybe unionization would work, maybe not. Volkmann can't support either one so he's stuck just voicing his disappointment, but all that will do is burn a bridge for him, it won't change anything.

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